MACKENZE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13278, 6 May 1907, Page 7

MACKENZE COUNTY COUNCIL.

STATEMENT OF FINANCES. At the meeting -of tlia Mackenzie County Council on Friday, the balance sheets ioi .ho year and half-year ended. March 51st. 1907, were received from- the Audit Department, to which thev had been submitted.' The Auditor-General returned the accounts', certified to as correct with four ' exceptions."—(l) That the amount paid under the N.Z. International Exhibition Empowering Act, 1905, was not the ascertained cost of preparing exhibits. (2) The uivanco to the Fairlie Domain Board wa: without authority of law. (3) No amount.* had ba:n received or provided for work.' indicated in the accounte headed Albury Cemetery, Tengjiwai Bridge, and Albury Cemetery Road. (4) The amounts expended' on Tekapo tree-planting, Rosewel Settlement Road, and ; Albury .Coalpit Road, were more. than the moneys provided for the purposes. ~

Mr Banks said that , the Council's books had bem kept on the same system for many years, and it was only recently •exception had been taken' to the book-keeping. The; Auditor-General now objected to opening separata accornt's till tlie ftmds for Hift work had! come in. As far tli r debit balances, to "which the 'exception oJF' some of the .accounts were due, wer? concerned, these had to be shown since the grants had not been' received till the whole vote had been.expended. Mr Guthrie said that he did not think the fact- that " exceptions " to the correctness' of • the' balance sheets had been madje, showed that the account.?, were not correct. For his part, he felt confident that they indicated the true financial position of the Council. A motion to this effect was unanimously carried, and it was decided'to add the resolution to the balance sheet when the latter was published. ESTIMATES. Mr Banks submitted an estimate of receipts, expenditure and rates for the year 1907-8, as follows General account: receipts' £1230; expenditure £2684; deficit £1454; Albury Riding account':-—Rates 'ld in £i £1202; debitbalance 31st March, 1907, £407 ; roads and ' works, £435 transfer to general account, £473; .total £1315; Cave Riding account, rate? (Id in £) £496 ; debit balance 31st March, jSO7, £203 ; roads and works £260; -transfer to general account £195; total £658; Fairlie Riding Account: —Credit balance 31st March, 1907, £95; rates (|d in £) £960; total £1055; > roads and works £472; transferred to general account £504; total £976; Tekapo Riding account: —Credit balance 31st March, 1907, £6l; rates (Id in £) . £711; total' £722 ; roads and works £340; transferred to general account £282; total ; £622. The estimated receipts for tlie coming year totalled £4600, made up as follows : Rents £200; arrears of rates £ls; license fees £200; refund Waimate County Council (2 years) £52;: subsidy on rates £690 : RaV\s—^-Fairlie (fd) £960; Albury 1 (Id) £1202 ; " Cave' (Id) £496; Tekapo (Id) £7ll. The . expenditure was estimated pt £5005, which would be reduced to £A655 by Government grants, amounting to £350. The expenditure was estimated as follows: —Debit balance 31st March, 1907, £-. i,j; expenses of three gangs £1885; budges and culverts £150; Hospitable and Charitable Aid Board levy £432; Harbour Board levy £923; miscellaneous works £75; Dr. Cook's salary £52; small hirds nuisance £7O; insurance £2CO; interest on Pukaki Bridge £3O; administration £475; by-laws and legal £SO; timber and unforeseen works £200; total £5005; less Government grant £35 C—£4655.1 Mr Banks submitted the following statement for purposes of comparison:—At the beginning of last year the debit balance on the general account was £Bl9, and at 31st r March last it wps reduced to £453. In striking the rates for the ridings for ! the year it was decided to increase the rates so as to improve the financial position,' although in the case of the Albury and Cave ridings the increase was purposely made less than was anticipated would be required to leave these ridings in credit at vhe end of the year, so as not to press unduly on the ratepayers. The* results for the year have worked out fairly closely to the estimates. Tho estimated deficit was £224 and the actual £453, tho excess being accounted for by unprovided amounts srch as T. Burnett's road £l3i, gi ant to N.Z. Exhibition £9l; etc., against whicli was an unfoiesewi item of revenue of £250, sale of land. The liding account balances at 31st March la ,r i wer: as follows Albury riding dr. £407 8s 3d, (estimate dr. £329); Cave riding dr. £202 14s 2d, (estimate dr. £167); Fairlie riding cr. £95 13s 4d, (estimate cr. £105); Tekapo riding cr. £6l-7s Bd, (estimate cr. £168). In the Cave and Albury ridings tho additional expenditure on Government £ for' £ grants Rosewill road:-, accounts for the higher deficit than estimated, and in the same way the cost of. the work on ,Mt. Cook Station reduced tlie credit balance of ' the Tekapo riding- The total revenue for the year in General Account was £5156, and expenditure £4BCO, while the revenue from all sources was £7003, and the expenditure £6496. STRIKING THE RATES. Mr Irving moved that at the next, ordinary meeting the Council should make and levy separately in each riding the following ratesAlbury and' Cave.ld in th? £, Tekapo 1.1-16' h din : the £, and Fairlie riding |d in tho £. Mr Schlaepfer moved an amendment that the rate for Tekapo riding "be reduced to Id, and after some discussion Mr I wing's motion with this alteration was carried.